‘Batman vs. Superman’ Is a ‘Very Serious’ Movie, Says Jesse Eisenberg

Noted Comic-Con hater, actor and apparently now writer, Jesse Eisenberg, appeared on NBC’s Today to promote his upcoming book of short stories “Bream Gives Me Hiccups” and talk eventually turned to Batman vs. Superman. It was at this point that Eisenberg, who plays Lex Luthor in the upcoming superhero movie, assured us all that not only is Batman vs. Superman a “phenomenal” movie, but that’s it’s also a “very serious” movie. To which, the entire universe responded with a resounding, no freaking duh.

It does not take a cognitive therapist to notice that Batman vs. Superman will be “very serious” but Eisenberg spelled it out for us anyway:

It was written by this guy, Chris Terrio — this is like his first movie after Argo. He’s just this brilliant writer of characters. So this movie is, you know, it’s not like a kind of cartoonish superhero movie. It’s this very serious and well acted, well written, well directed movie. It’s really phenomenal.

If you’ve seen even a frame of Batman vs. Superman so far, you’ve no doubt noticed the dour tone of the film. “Grimace” seems to be the primary direction given to actors. And this is not necessarily a bad thing. If it fits what director Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. are trying to do with their Justice League universe (and, given how often they tell us this is what they’re trying to do and reportedly have a “No Jokes” policy, we’ll assume it is), then that’s what works for them.

What we might take slight umbrage with is Eisenberg implying that a “cartoonish” superhero movie could not also be well acted, well written or well directed. We could refer you to a number of movies — one, The Incredibles, literally being a cartoon — that are all of those things.

We don’t want to get into a debate about which is better, a fun Marvel universe or a serious DC universe, because we think there is room for all types of superhero movies and they can all co-exist and be good and we can enjoy all of them (or are we all doomed to debate Avengers vs. The Dark Knight until the bitter end?). We just think DC and the Batman vs. Superman cast might be better served shelving this talking point. The passive aggressive slights at Marvel are getting you nowhere. We want to see you, Batman vs. Superman, and we all legitimately hope you are a good movie; now stop acting so insecure.